Blue Zones came to Palm Springs earlier in the year to garners support for their innovative program. A Netflix series has documented how changes in our diet, exercise and social networks can have a positive effect on our life expectancy.
Author Dan Buettner produced the series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, which I bing-watched this week. That’s because my 65th birthday is imminent and I’m already on Medicare! That used to be the age where people retired, had a few years of declining health and died. Not any more!
‘Blue Zones’ include far-flung places like Ikaria, Greece and closer to home, Loma Linda, California. It’s inspiring to see octogenarians still working, playing and socializing. The program is under consideration for Palm Springs, but there are some great tips and habits that one can form at any age to extend their lives. It’s worth a few hours of your TV time and a look at their website.
As Hunters turned 25 this week, Streetbar 32 last month and Tool Shed about to turn 30 next month, we know that “gay bars” provided ‘community’ to a whole generation of mostly gay men. Whether drinking in the bars added years to anyone’s life is doubtful, but the community that it creates certainly does. We have much more research on other factors that make our life expectancy longer, and Blue Zones is there to guide us. I’m up for another 35+ years in order to make it to 100. What about you?
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide on KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs
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Todrick Hall – Velvet Rage
The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage presents Todrick Hall – Velvet Rage on Friday, September 15 at 8 pm. Hall is a multi-talented performer, composer, actor, director, choreographer, and social media personality who rose to prominence on and after his appearance on American Idol. He continued to create content and build his brand on his YouTube channel, which has over 3.6 million subscribers and 886 million channel views. Get tickets
Friday Fusion with DJ Galaxy
DJ Galaxy, of KGAY’s Retro Lunch and Retro Sunday Brunch, is back on Fridays from 4–8 pm with Friday Fusion at Impala Bar & Grill! This Friday T-Dance Happy Hour Social will feature beats by Galaxy, sexy GoGo boys and daddies, pop-up performances by drag kings and queens and other celebrities, with flagging by Desert Flaggers and hosted by Snatch. This weekly party from the producer who brought back Boyz Night Out celebrates equality, diversity, and inclusion. No cover; food and drink specials throughout.
Confessions of a Star Maker
Confessions of a Star Maker will be presented live at the Annenberg Theatre as a benefit for the Palm Springs Art Museum on Sunday, September 17 at 2 pm. This award-winning new play, written and directed by Palm Springs resident Luke Yankee, is a film noir “whodunit” told in the style of a 1950’s radio play, including a stable of professional actors from Broadway, Los Angeles and the Coachella valley, as well as one of Hollywood’s top Foley artists creating live sound effects. With characters loosely based on Hollywood icons like Rock Hudson, Natalie Wood and Marlene Dietrich, the play reveals the thrill of 1950’s Tinsel Town as well as its dark underbelly. Get tickets
HRC Happy Hour
Come to The Roost Lounge in Cathedral City on Sunday, September 17 from 2:30–4:30 pm for the HRC Palm Springs Garden Party Call for Co-Hosts (ticket packages), Call for Sponsors & Silent Auction Donations, Happy Hour. Meet representatives from the HRC Palm Springs Steering Committee and Garden Party Planning Committee. ( And save the date for the HRC Garden Party: November 4, 2023 from 2–4:30 pm). More info
Mi Chavela Fest
Mi Chavela Fest is the first Michelada festival in the Coachella Valley, taking place Saturday, September 16 from 4–11 pm at Luchador Brewing Company. The word “michelada” is a Spanish portmanteau that combines “chela” (slang term for beer) with “ada” for “helada,” meaning cold, and “mi” for mine — my cold beer! Come for the best Miche vendors, live music, live Lucha Libre match, food trucks, artisan vendors, lowrider classic car show and much more for the whole family. Get tickets
Great Desert Cleanup
The Oswit Land Trust will be working with Great Desert Clean-up to clean Mesquite Creek on Saturday, September 16 from 7:30–9:30 am. This year is especially needed as the water subsides from the storm; it has left a significant amount of trash and debris. More info
Yucca Valley Art Walk: “The Joshua Tree”
Joshua Tree National Park Association presents “The Joshua Tree” An Irreplaceable Icon of California’s Desert that must be protected on Saturday, September 16, from 5–8 pm.
This is a group show, the Yucca Valley 3rd Saturday Art Walk, featuring Southern California artist’s interpretation of our beloved endangered Joshua Tree. The show will feature photography, ceramics, paintings, textile art and more. The show tackles the potential disappearance of Joshua Trees from Southern California by the end of the century. Proceeds from the show will directly benefit the protection and preservation efforts of Joshua Tree National Park. More info
Yve Evans Presents Blues/Jazz 2023 Series
The Cathedral City Senior Center and Yve Evans present their Blues Jazz 2023 Series on Saturday, September 16 from 3–5 pm, featuring Yve Evans (piano &vocals), Rick E Taylor (guitar) & Larry Washington (drums). Come together and join us for an afternoon filled of great jazz and blues music. Jazz is about being in the moment, and indeed we all are with the incredible vocals and piano of Yve Evans herself and other amazing musicians. More info
Auditions for Modern Men Chorus
The Modern Men Chorus invites you to audition to join them for their upcoming Holiday Concert on Saturday, September 16 from 11 am–12 noon at the Palm Springs United Methodist Church . More info
This Weekend at The Purple Room
Michael Holmes’ Purple Room Supper Club is back in season and on Friday, September 15 come see Jonathan Karrant performing his “Eclectic” collection of popular songs written from the 1940’s through the 2010’s. and on Saturday, September 16, Debby Holiday will perform her Tina Turner tribute to a sold-out house. On Sunday, September 17, the spirit of Judy Garland is alive and well with Michael Holmes performing The Judy Show! Get tickets
Identity Thief Movie with Live Discussion
The Coachella Valley Ladies of Justice and palmspringstheatre.com celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the movie Identity Thief on Saturday, September 16 from 1–3:15 pm at the Mary Pickford Theatre in Cathedral City. There will be a brief educational forum on the epidemic of Identity Theft and how to protect yourself, and then the group will enjoy this great movie together. Popcorn included with admission. More info
Broadway to the BIG SCREEN – Moulin Rouge!
The Palm Springs Cultural Center presents the last movie in their summer series of great musicals that made it from Broadway to the BIG SCREEN (and sometimes back again). On Saturday, September 16 at 4 pm, the featured film is Moulin Rouge! At the heart of the musical Moulin Rouge is love, romance, the beauty of innocent love and the pathos of lost love. It translates into amazing music and a tragic tale about Christian – a young Englishman visiting Paris in 1899. He becomes infatuated with Satine, a singer at the Moulin Rouge. Sadly, she has been promised by the manager to a Duke in return for funding his next production. As the young lovers meet in secret, Satine’s wedding day draws closer. The two plot to escape, but in the end, we learn that Satine has hidden a fatal secret from both Christian and the Duke. Love wins, but love is lost. MeTV 103.1 fm is a proud media sponsor of the Broadway to the BIG SCREEN Film Series! Get tickets
Sing Along With Us – The Music Man
The Palm Springs Cultural Center presents the last movie of the summer Sing Along With Us Film Series, on the largest screen in the valley at the Historic Camelot Theatre. The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus will lead the singing. On Sunday, September 17 at 3 pm, come sing along to The Music Man, in which traveling con artist Harold Hill targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys’ band leader to raise money before he can skip town. Gay Desert Guide and KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs are proud media sponsors of the Sing Along With Us This Summer Film Series! Get tickets
Camp Caftan
Pack your bags and leave your troubles behind, Camp Caftan is taking place Friday, September 15–Sunday, September 17 at Running Springs, nestled into the top of the San Bernardino Mountains. Camp Caftan is like summer camp, but gayer. Guest cabins are included in the ticket price, as are all the typical summer camp amenities: mess hall, outdoor amphitheater, swimming pool, games area, hiking trails, and fire pits. Get dancing at the outdoor music stage and show off your act at the second annual Camp Caftan talent show. Get tickets
Broadway Bash Dinner Show
Willie’s Modern Fare in Rancho Mirage presents Musical Theatre University’s Broadway Bash Dinner Show every Sunday in September. Come enjoy a three course dinner with a fully staged Broadway Revue by MTU’s singing servers and a celebrated Broadway guest star at every show! Seating is at 4 pm with the show at 5 pm. Get tickets
Blatino Oasis
Blatino Oasis returns all new for 2023 from Thursday, September 14–Sunday, September 17 at a new venue: Canyon Club Hotel in downtown Palm Springs. Blatino Oasis is a gay and bisexual men of color retreat, far from urban life, attracting over a thousand gay and bisexual men from around the world for a weekend full of pool parties, dancing, brunches and hot guys. Get tickets
